The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Sensors are used in a wide variety of operational environments to monitor operating and environmental characteristics. These sensors can include temperature, pressure, velocity, position, motion, current, voltage, and impedance sensors, by way of example. They are placed in or associated with the operational environment being monitored and are designed for generating an electrical signal or having an electrical characteristic such as an impedance, voltage or current that varies in response to the changes in values as the monitored operating or environment characteristic changes.
Typically, sensors are designed for particular operational environments and for particular operating ranges based on a trade off between performance over the range of the characteristic to be monitored and costs. Some sensors have high sensitivity with narrow monitoring ranges, while others have less sensitivity but with broader monitoring ranges. Additionally, some sensors are designed for harsh environments that provide for sensing of the operating characteristics without requiring constant replacement. For example, thermistors and resistance temperature detectors (RTD) have impedances including resistances that vary as a function of temperature and are often utilized temperature measurement. These devices utilize semi-conductor devices that can be prone to failure in a harsh operating environment. Additionally, thermistors can be extremely sensitive but typically are only linear over a narrow temperature range. In contrast, thermocouples generate an output voltage, due to the well known Seebeck Effect, and can have a wide linear temperature detection range. The designs of thermocouples enable them to be placed in harsh environments, but are generally less costly than thermistors.
Sensors are typically coupled to a measurement instrument or device is adapted for receiving or determining the sensor provided characteristic and, in response, determining the value of the monitored operating characteristic. For example, a temperature measurement instrument includes an interface and temperature measurement hardware and software for receiving or determining a value of a characteristic of a temperature coupled thereto and determining a temperature measured by the temperature sensor. Each measurement instrument is designed and configured for a particular type of sensor such as the various types of thermocouples, thermistors, RTDs, pressure sensors, and motion detections, by way of example. For temperature measurement, one common type of measurement instrument is configured for determining a sensed temperature from an RTD temperature sensor. While some measurement instruments are configurable or selectable between sensor types, it is common for each to be specialized for the particular type of sensor.
However, the operators of measurement systems having measurement instruments and sensors would often like to utilize a different sensor without having to change out or modify the measurement instrument. For example, an operator may desire to sense a temperature with a thermocouple even though the operations system is already equipped with temperature measurement systems designed for resistance-type temperature sensors such as a particular type of RTD or thermistor. In the alternative, the operational environment may be configured for use with a thermocouple, and the operator may desire to utilize a resistance-type of temperature measurement instrument.